In a pivotal decision, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky vacated the 2024 Title IX regulations. The case is State of Tennessee, et al. v. Cardona, Civil Action No. 2:24-cv-00072-DCR (E.D. Ky. Jan. 9, 2025). This ruling nullifies the 2024 regulations entirely, meaning in effect it has a nationwide application. Typically when a court vacates regulations, it means you return to the previous regulations. In this situation, that would mean returning to the 2020 Title IX framework.
The 2024 regulations attempted to expand Title IX protections to include sexual orientation and gender identity, redefine harassment standards, and introduce procedural changes. The court rejected these efforts, finding that the Department exceeded its statutory authority and violated the constitution while doing so. This ruling underscores the ongoing legal battles over Title IX’s scope and the proper process for regulatory changes.
What Does This Mean for Schools?
Schools must now revert to the 2020 Title IX framework, which requires immediate planning and action.
Policy Updates Are Essential
We know you do NOT want to hear this, but school districts are going to have to update their Title IX policies to align with the 2020 regulations at some point fairly soon. The court’s decision invalidates any adjustments made to comply with the now-vacated 2024 rules. KSB School Law has already begun drafting updated policies for our policy service subscribers. However, we recommend waiting until after President Trump’s inauguration to finalize changes, as we expect an executive order or other executive position may further alter or complicate the status of the Title IX litigation and regulations.
Prepare for More Litigation
Legal challenges to the 2020 regulations will likely resurface, alongside ongoing cases involving the rights of transgender students. These lawsuits will continue to shape the Title IX landscape, requiring schools to remain vigilant and flexible.
Plan for Additional Training
Administrators should plan for additional Title IX training during the second semester of the 2024-25 school year. Everyone involved in the Title IX process—investigators, decision-makers, and appellate decision-makers—will need updated training to ensure compliance with the reimplemented 2020 regulations and prepare for any new guidance. Anyone not previously trained on the 2020 regulations will need training if you plan to have them serve in your Title IX team KSB will offer new, streamlined training sessions on our portal, and we promise these will be shorter than the lengthy sessions required in 2020 (though we all know you’ll miss our Hamilton references)!
New Complaints
If you get a new complaint of sexual harassment and the misconduct occurred after January 8, 2025, you should contact your school lawyer. Until schools can get their 2020 regulation policies and processes in place, we’ll have to navigate inconsistency between the law post-ruling and your policies, procedures, forms, etc.
How KSB Can Help
We are finalizing updated Title IX policy templates and will release them to policy service subscribers after we evaluate any new information from the Trump Administration as they take office.
You should dust off your 2020 policies and forms and share those with administrative staff, so everyone has a refresher on those processes as we work toward updated policies to enact in the coming weeks. You can contact KSB for assistance with updates, training, and legal guidance. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at ksb@ksbschoollaw.com or (402) 804-8000.